The Things Left Unsaid
by bobia
Summary: "Staring into her eyes, I find the portal to my soul and this is how I know that we are one, and destined to be that way. Our souls are halves to a whole, torn apart at the beginning of time only to be found again, bonded." full summary inside JacobxOC
1. unpredictable

**Hey guys! I'm starting a new story! My other one became kind of a dud and no one was reviewing so I'm going to start this one. Maybe if my writers block clears up I can finish my other story 'a day in the life'**

**I gave an excerpt as the description for this story but here's the full summary =]**

**'When Shy goes on a trip with her family, she discovers that nothing- her, life, or even love, is what it seems to be. Her and her brother Nate both undergo big changes; physically, mentally and emotionally, that might make this vacation turn into a permanent lifestyle for them. But, will Shy be happy about this? Will she be willing to give up her dreams to understand her new-found path of life, of love? Shy and Jacob need to see eye to eye before their pride destroys them both, but the question is, do they even want to? Can they live with it- loving each other forever? These changes are difficult for everyone, but for reasons that none of them are willing to admit.'**

**This chapter might not have any twilight characters in it yet- im gonna tell the background of Shy's story first, but give it a try!**

**Review please!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that Stephenie Meyers made up. I only own my characters and my plot! =]**

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Chapter 1- unpredictable

_"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."_

_ -Maya Angelou _

**Shy's P.O.V.**

"NO friggin way!"

"Way."

"NO! Shy…no flippin way."

I can't really blame Dee for not being able to accept it at first. But she will, well, because she has to.

"You, Shyla Srewolf, miss I-hate-her-and-everything-she-stand's-for, are going with _her-"_

"I know what your think-"

"-with _her_?" Oh Dee, how dramatic you are.

See, that's Dee for you. Overly dramatic, superficial, spoiled Dee. And I love her, well, because she's my best friend and I've known her since I was three. I'm very practical-simplistic even, and Dee is just the opposite, which is probably why we've been friends for so long-we balance each other out.

"I know what you're thinking Dee, and I agree. A week with the pushovers, planned by the queen of all scum, in the middle of nowhere for 2 weeks-"

"_Three _weeks-"

"Two and a half."

"Including traveling time, it's three."

Dee is always precise, always right. This is probably why she can't come to terms with this yet: she's known and come to understand my predictable behavior for a long time. When I told Dee about this trip a few months go, when it was just being planned, we'd both agreed that I'd fight my way out of it and stay with her for that time being. But I didn't fight and I'm not staying with Dee, which means everything Dee's known about this aspect of my life till this day is wrong. Which to Dee is clearly _not _okay. Now trust me, I honestly did not want to go with all the might I have in me, but when they explained where we'd be going, well when _she _explained, I couldn't help but agree. You see, that 'she' that I'm referring to is my stepmother from hell- or somewhere relatively close to there. My mother died when I was very young, and _she_ is the one who is trying to take her position. My mother was Native American, from a place far away in Washington state. My stepmother decided any picture, belonging, or even thought of my mother had to go when _she_ came around, so she doesn't know this. Which is probably why she voluntarily picked this place to do her next excursion.

Even though she's a bitch, her job is pretty cool. She's an anthropologist, so she gets to go all around the world and study different cultures. This is actually what I want to do but I won't dare admit it because then she'd think she's been some kind of role model or something, and I don't want her taking any kind of credit. This time around she's studying native American culture, and since it's in the same country, we get to go with her. Usually me, my younger brother Nate and my father all stay behind while she's out exploring the world. Since she's staying in the US this time, my father thought we could use this opportunity as 'a nice, fun, family vacation'.

Yeah frigging right. I'd rather get my teeth pulled.

The thing about _her_ is that, she's actually not evil. She's probably as close to perfect as you can get. Perfect body, perfect face, perfect childhood, perfect career, perfect….I could go on for days- you get the point. All of these perfections make her disapproval of my mother acceptable to my father. "You can't expect a woman as successful as her to be weighed down Shy." he always reminds me. Now don't take it the wrong way, my father was sad to see my mother go, but he's done grieving and feels we all need to move on-but not forget, in order to lead healthy lives.

And no one can fathom why I disapprove of _her_ so much, no one except Dee. She's the only one that agrees that _her_ hair is _too_ perfect, _her_ job is _too_ great, _her _manners are _too_ polite. And for superficial Dee, who would normally appreciate perfection, to admit that means I'm not going crazy. There's something wrong with this bitch.

So I agreed to go on the trip partly because if and when she finds out where we're going is the homeland of my mother, because I'll make sure she finds out, she'll be furious- and I most certainly would not want to miss that. The other reason I agreed is that I was so young when my mother passed, I know almost nothing about her. _She_ came into the picture before I was old enough to understand what was going on, and by the time I could, everything about my mother had already been outlawed by her. If my mother was alive…

I was distracted from that thought by the rustling leaves outside. It wasn't the usual rustle of leaves that you normally find on a cool summer night. This was a strong gust of wind, swirling the leaves around like little tiny tornados all down the street. And just as quickly as the breeze came, it went. My attention was as quickly diverted from this as it was too it by Nate knocking on my door.

"Shy-shy-bo by." Nate sang as he knocked on my door. See, I'm 2 years Nate's senior, making him 15 and me 17. We have all types of silly little names and songs we use for each other that started when we were young.

"Come in Nate the great." I called. He opened the door and froze mid-step when he saw Dee. Even though Dee is 2 years older than Nate, he has no problem crushing on her. Dee thinks its just 'sooo cute'. I think its gross to be honest, like, come on! I've seen Nate pick his boogers, ugh. But this doesn't stop Dee from playing with his little 15 year old emotions and hormones.

"Hey cutie." Dee said to Nate as she winked at him before turning back around to face me.

"Oh, hey Dee, I didn't know you were here…" Nate began to say while backtracking his path through the door.

"Oh Nate, just come in and sit down." I said as I pinched Dee's arm subtly so Nate wouldn't see it. I don't mind Dee playing around but Nate was my little brother and I guess you could say I was kind of…protective. Dee just looked at me and shrugged before turning back to Nate and giving a little wave before standing up.

"It's okay, I better be going anyway. You know Darius doesn't like to be kept waiting." Darius is Dee's cunt of a boyfriend that I totally disapprove of. He's cocky and obnoxious and controlling, and Dee loves him. Sad, yes, but true. You can't argue with a girl in love; that's like ordering Chinese food in Spanish. I know from experience, every time I've tried to steer Dee away from him in the past it just ended up in ridiculous shouting matches between us so I gave up. I don't blame Dee for disregarding my warnings, I didn't have any proof about his corruption- nothing except my own intuition. Determined to not get enthralled in Dee's relationship problems, I directed my attention to Nate after hugging Dee and watching her leave my room.

"Hey Natey, what's up?" Nate looked kind of nervous, which is completely out of his character. Nate is spontaneous and wild and funny and a goof. Always confident and macho, sometimes even pigheaded. Nate kind of shifted his weight from side to side and let out a few huffs before he finally started to speak.

"I..well I know how much you hate Nat and well..I was just wondering if maybe you could try to be sort of nice to her during this trip.." Nat is short for Natalie…_her _name. I had all intentions of being nice to Nat, this trip wasn't only for her benefit, it was for mine too and I wasn't going to mess it up by being a wise-ass. This being said, my confusion wasn't because I felt Nate was betraying me by taking Nat's side or anything, I was just confused as to why he wanted things to go so smoothly.

"Of course I'll be nice to Nat." I reassured Nate."…what's going on-" before I could even finish Nate was already explaining.

"I just want to have a good time and I know you hate Nat so if you're mean to her she'll make us stay behind this time and I really can't- I mean don't want to." Nate wouldn't want to stay home? He can't stay home? Nate's always had a ton of friends- way more than me. He was always going places and hanging out and finding new adventures, why wouldn't he want to all of a sudden? Something is up.

"…what's going on? Why can't you stay here?" Nate shifted his weight again and looked at the floor, then the door, then stared me directly in the eyes.

"I haven't been feeling good lately Shy-" I looked him and down skeptically, does he have a cold or something? He looks pretty healthy to me. Despite the weird major growth spurt he went through recently: he's a good 5 inches taller than me now as opposed to him barely reaching my brow a few months ago- but, he _is_ a teenage growing boy.

"Are you sick? We could just take you to the doctor's you know, you don't have to go around trailing germs all ov-" Nate's face hardened as he cut me off.

"I'm fine Shy, I mean I'm not sick physically. I just don't feel right anymore- I don't get along with the guys, I even got in a fight with Stevicky the other day- like a real fight. I just spazzed- I don't know why. I think maybe-maybe I'm just getting tired of here you know? Maybe I need new faces." This was the most serious I've ever seen Nate- like, ever. And fighting Stevicky? They've been friends since before time, they've always gotten along. I mean besides the fact that Nate had always felt a little inferior to Stevicky because of his good looks but I guess puberty is doing nate some righteous self-esteem good.

"You had a fight with Stevicky? Why didn't you tell me? Does dad know? Nat would freak-wait…are you running-running away Nate?" I asked this last question softly, I wasn't trying to antagonize Nate, I was seriously trying to see if he was running away from Stevicky and the crew because he was scared. If they were threatening my little brother I swear I would-

I was broken away from this thought by a brustle of leaves against my window. Leaves against my second story window? Jeez the weather is acting up lately. And even bigger distraction from my thoughts was Nate's sudden outburst.

"_Scared_? You think I'm _scared_? Of _Stevicky_?" Nate gave a haughty laugh. "I'm not scared Shy, Stevicky has nothing on me- _nothing." _this isn't the humble, sweet Nate I used to know, my little brother. This is a new super hormone powered teenage Nate- and I didn't like it. But, before I could even challenge Nate's new-found cockiness he was already out my door and down the hallway to his room. I sat there astounded by his actions, staring out the window. Well not exactly out the window- at the window. There was a leaf stuck to the windowpane, trailing along as the wind pushed it. It made a few spirals, as if it were dancing, before being thrust away from the glass by a gust of wind. Jeez, am I the only person not completely out of their element today? I got up and closed my blind before heading downstairs to face my father and Miss America.

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**So guys, what do you think? Review review review! Its motivation and it helps I promise! The next chapter will really start to get things going but not without my viewers help! Suggestions are welcome! & sorry for any spelling errors =/ i'll be better in the next chapters =]**

**Thanks guys, please review!**

**-Mia =]**


	2. visitors

**Hey guys , I just want to say thanks for the story favs and alerts I got! Really helps me along here..but still I ask for more reviews! I have a bunch of readers but only 1 review =/ **

**I'm going to put a quote at the beginning of every chapter which will usually reflect that chapter or the story all in itself. The quote of this chapter might seem offensive but I swear its not meant to be! You'll understand why I chose this when you understand the characters more. **

**Disclaimer : I do not own any of the twilight characters. I only own my characters, plot and anything else I've made up! =] **

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Chapter 2- Visitors

_"How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right."_

_-Black Hawk, Sauk_

**Shy's P.O.V.**

A few days after the incident with Nate and I've only gotten as many words as I can count on my fingers out of him. Every question I ask him receives either a grumbled response if one at all. I can't really blame him I guess, he's had a cold for the past few days, even running a fever. Downstairs in the kitchen I sit eating a bowl of cereal when in comes the wicked witch of the west.

"Hey sweety, isn't it a little late for cereal?" I hate when she calls me sweety or any other little term of endearment she can conjure up. I've made it blatantly clear in the past that I don't like it but she is relentless. She pretends to be naïve to how serious I am, but every she calls me a little pet name her eye twinkles a bit and the left side of her mouth raises into a perfectly cynical smirk.

Two can play this game missy.

Ignoring the groans of discomfort coming from Nate who's made a permanent home of the couch since he's been sick, I decide to take a sleek stab at Nat.

"Aren't I a little too old for you to be watching what I eat?" I said with a sickly sweet smile. It's not often that me and Nat teeter tatter with each other, but how much I enjoy when we do. It's never in front of my father or Nate of course because believe me when I say it, Nat's words do not only have superficial meanings. She sly and it makes me sick that no one else seems to be able to pick up on it. Being that we do go back and forth on occasion, she does know how to push my buttons. There was no verbal response from her to my comment but what she did stung even worse than her subliminal messages could ever. She smirked that evil little grin as her eyes slid from the bowl of sugary cereal to the bulge of my stomach, down to my thighs and then back up to my face. The blood rushed to my face as I attempted to subtly straighten my back and suck in my stomach as she turned gracefully around and walked out of the kitchen.

I swear I hate her. So what if I had a little pudge? I'm human aren't I? Don't get me wrong, I'm no wooly mammoth, but naturally when everyone sits down they look a little heavier than they are but none the less, it was very embarrassing. Pushing the half eaten cereal away from my body I got up and stalked through the living room, bounding up the stairs to my room to pack. We leave for Washington tomorrow and I haven't packed so much as a tooth brush.

I wander aimlessly around my room for a few minutes, dreaming up all the ways Natalie could mysteriously fall into a ditch or off a cliff during this trip, only to stop when I end up near my desk in front of a picture of my dog, Chevy. Chevy isn't my dog any more but he'll always me my number one. He was a silver and white husky with blue eyes that my mom named Cheveyo. She said that Cheveyo meant "warrior spirit" and that he had a strong heart, that of a warrior. When Natalie came around is when Chevy 'ran away'. A few days after she moved in, Chevy disappeared from his doghouse in the backyard one night. The chain was broken so dad says he probably broke away, wanting to be free, disregarding the fact that the chain was industrial strength. I know better than to believe Chevy went willingly, Warriors don't run away.

Taking the picture off my wall, I place it in the top compartment of my suitcase. I have a feeling I'm going to need Chevy's guidance on this trip, wherever he is. I continue to pack, mostly long sleeved shirts, jeans and sweaters. _She_ said it was going be cold where we were going so I'm going to make sure I'm well prepared. As much as I'd like to wear shorts and tanks just to spite her, I'm not trying to freeze my but off. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

The last thing to go in my suitcase is my dream catcher. Its circular cobalt blue main web is connected to three smaller circular webs underneath it that have white and brown feathers dangling from them. I bought it a few months ago, after I'd had night after night of nightmares. Sometimes they would vary but for the most part I kept having the same terrifyingly realistic dream.

_I'm in the middle of a field and I'm facing someone on the other side. I don't know how I know, because this person is unfamiliar to me, but they aren't my friend. In fact, they aren't friendly at all; their entire aura is menacing and intimidating. I have nothing to protect myself with, and my assailant is approaching but I'm not afraid. I stand my ground as the trees sway violently as the winds pick up intense amounts of speed. Leaves and dirt and wind swirl around me, the ground shifts and the person stops moving. The ground seems to be crumbling beneath my feet, the dirt and grass just giving way as the earth swallow me whole. I'm falling into nothing, descending upon an empty void-_

Always the same ending- me falling awake. Sometimes I'm not on a field, or sometimes there's no assailant but in the end I always get devoured by the earth. I know it doesn't seem like much a nightmare, I mean in the dream I'm not even afraid! But that is exactly what scares me. I'm in the middle of a tornado, the ground opens beneath me dropping me into an abyss of darkness and I am not afraid.

Shaking off the eerie feeling left from my reminiscing of the dream, I lay the dream catcher flat on top of my clothes and zipper up the suitcase. I should probably call Dee tonight since I won't be able to see her tomorrow morning, the flight leaves at 7 a.m. I glance at the clock - 11 p.m.- I better make this phone call quick or else I won't be waking up in the morning and knowing Natalie's sneaky ways she could probably convince my father to leave me behind.

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Did I mention how much I'm scared of heights? I'm surprised the flight attendants didn't have to tranquilize me during take-off. It's not that I'm scared of the plane crashing or falling or anything, I just don't like not being on the ground. I don't feel stable if I'm not grounded to the floor- floating and flying was never my cup of tea. I hope I don't become a bird in the next life or anything- I'll be the first bird in history who refuses to leave the nest. Thankfully though, Nate had snapped out of his weird mood this morning and was more than happy to distract me the entire plane ride so I didn't fling myself out the plane's exit trying to reach the ground again. He didn't talk about what was bothering him, physically or mentally, and scared of another explosion on his part, I didn't mention it. I could tell he still had a cold because when he reached over me to put my bag in the over-head compartment his arm brushed my shoulder and I could feel the heat of his body penetrating through my shirt. I used to have to reach the high things for Nate but now it's the other way around-the top of my head barely clears his chin now. I could've sworn I was eye-level with his mouth the day of our argument, but maybe I was mistaken- there was a lot going on that day.

The ride from the airport was a site to behold. Where I come from there was grass and trees but nothing like this; no forests with the sounds of crickets and birds chirping, creating soft melodies in the air. No fog to mystify the vast green mountainous terrain. No cool, gentle winds to sway the branches to imaginary rhythms. This was a place of serenity, a place of tranquility that masked the great powers of the land and majestically hidden sources, the-

What the _hell_ am I talking about? I mean this place is definitely impressive but I don't know how to explain that feeling that just took over me- it was like something took over my mind, reaching my soul.

"Jeez, talk about no-man's land." apparently Nate disagrees. I eyed him, watching his expressions and gestures. He's really going through something lately isn't he? One minutes he's all gung-ho for the vacation and the next he's complaining. He looks in my direction to find me staring into his face, and in return bore his eyes into mine. There's something weird about him. Not the way he has to sit all hunched in the seat now because of his freakishly large size, not the fact that he has to sit sideways in the back seat because his legs don't fit, and not because his arms were crossed over his chest in a very non-Nate-like pout.

He just…was. I mean, Nate was always something special before, charming and funny, but now he has a presence- one that commanded attention. When he spoke to you, you listened- but not in a bossy way. He just seemed…dependable now. The idea of him was comforting...not that I could always talk to Nate before, but now I could turn to him. He wasn't just my _little _brother anymore, physicality or personality wise, and maybe that's why I'm having a hard time understanding him.

The whole ride Nat blabbed about how _excited_ she was and how she couldn't _wait_ to get out and see the land and the people. And I told her how much I just couldn't _wait _for her to shut up. Well, I didn't say exactly that, it was something more like a mumble of agreement as she smiled at me slyly in the rearview mirror. You can't blame me for not speaking out against her. For one, my dad was in the car and two, she kind-of was in control now since we didn't have any idea of the details and plans of the trip. Nat-1, Me-0.

"So guys, after we get checked into the motel we're going to go to the festival for dinner!" Nat said as if we should know all about what she was talking about. She does things like this on purpose I think, not because she genuinely forget she didn't mention anything about the topic to us. Now, someone is going to have to ask her about the festival making her seem in control, she has the upper hand. Nat-2, Me-0.

"What festival honey?" My father, of course, just had to ask. Nat smiled lovingly at him while she took one hand off of the steering wheel and rested it on his leg.

"There's a festival, being thrown by the local tribe on their reservation, I found out about it through Kenny-" Kenny is her business associate and travel partner, he's the one she usually travels with. "-who says that anyone is welcome, so I thought what better way to start off our vacation! Plus I could really get some good insight on their culture from it." And with that she slid her hand a little farther up my father's thigh making him laugh nervously while trying to shimmy from under her touch.

"Yeah, I thought it might be something fun for the kids to do tonight." she added with a smile. How clever she is, trying to get rid of us to _our_ convenience. I mentally scoffed at her before returning my gaze to Nate. I stared at his face as Natalie asked

"What do you think guys? Fun?" Nate's face remained cool as he replied "Yeah, sounds neat." I saw her glance at me in the rearview mirror out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't respond. I stared at Nate for a little while longer waiting for him to look over so we could play our make-a-silly-face game but he never did, and so I turned around and endured the rest of the silence of the ride.

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"La push here we come." I said as we stepped out of the car to the festival. It seemed more like a dirt path of hell to me. Nat and Dad were walking ahead of me and Nate down the path and I'm glad they were, I wanted to spend some time alone with Nate. As we walked down the path I play-bumped into him, glad when I was given a smile in return.

"…yeah, I don't think you should bump me back, you might send me flying down this hill."

I said as I looked precariously down the rest of the sloped dirt path. Nate let out a bark of laughter and I was glad to see the Nate-grin again. I made small talk about nothing, testing the waters because I still wasn't sure what made him tick, which seemed like anything these days- boy am I glad I'm over puberty.

"Nate, have you noticed how ridiculously _huge_ you've gotten? I mean dad was never so tall, and you know mom was tall but she wasn't _that_-"

I was cut off by the sight of a huge bonfire. There were people standing all around of all ages and sizes; little kid's running around the campfire and elder people standing near picnic benches set up. This is what they called a festival? I feel more like I'm in some kind of tribal ceremony. The beach is pretty- I can't even lie, but this is not what Nat described at all. I should've known better than to think there'd be something in this deal for us. Me and Nate looked at each other and then back at the display in front of us before I looped my arm through his and we walked the rest of the way to the bonfire. Dad and Natalie were already mixing and mingling so me and Nate were left standing at the edge of the crowd like two idiots until a girl, woman rather, walked up to us.

"Hello! Welcome to La push. I'm Emily." Her smile was inviting and warm, but I couldn't help but stare at the scars on her face for a second more than was polite. Three lines across one half of her face, a claw print, looked as if it attempted to shred her beauty to pieces. They had failed, to her fortune. Despite the scars she was strikingly beautiful, with russet skin similar to mine, long dark hair and beautiful almond shaped eyes. Nate perked up, naturally, at the approach of a female and puffed his chest out all male-ego like and smiled gracefully at her. Where was the Nate who stammered and stumbled at Dee last week? Woah is Dee going to be jealous! Good for her.

"I'm Nate, and this is my sister Shyla. We're here with…" as Nate made small talk with Emily I surveyed the scene a little more. It actually seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves; eating and talking, laughing and joking. As I scanned the landscape I noticed a rustle in the trees followed by a glint of yellow. Did I mention how much I'm afraid of the dark? Tuning back into Nate and Emily's conversation, desperate to distract myself from my surroundings, I come in when Emily was just inviting us over to the crowd.

We followed her through the crowd, saying the standard 'hello' and 'nice to meet you' to everyone Emily introduced us to. After what seemed like a lifetime we finally got to our destination, a little picnic table with bunch of huge boys sitting on it. Seeing these boys made me less worried about Nate. They too were huge, long limbs and torso, all around the same height- maybe this is how native American boys are supposed to mature. You would of thought someone turned on the wrestling channel looking at them.

"Nate, Shyla- meet Jared, Quil, Embry, and Sam." from her smile at the last name, I already knew who Sam was in relation to her. The others I assume are closely related because they all look alike.

"Hey." I said timidly with a little wave. I don't know what it is but something made me uneasy. Oh, could it be the death stare match going on between Nate and the guys? I swear I don't know what's gotten into him. Everything is about confrontations with him now. Luckily Sam spoke up, I see Emily has chosen wisely, smart girl.

"Nice to meet you Nate. Isn't it nice to meet him guys?" Sam seemed to be trying to make a peace offering. Their expressions went from angry and protective to confused. There were a bunch of grunts and half nods in our direction.

"I'm sorry, they're all a little grumpy, none of them got enough to eat since they're not used to having to eat human sized portions." Emily gestured towards all the other people who are eating around the bonfire sharing food with a smile and a bit of sarcasm. I think I'm starting to like her, she seems to have a good handle on herself, even with these monster-sized hormonal teenage boys around. Stealing a look at Nate, he seemed confused as well, like his mind was being torn with different thoughts, and he couldn't make sense of it. Before I got to question him about it, 3 of the boys got up as 3 more were returning. Travel in packs much? Emily seemed to noticed my curious face.

"Bathroom shifts." she said with a weary smile. I don't blame them, I'd want someone to watch my back in those woods too. The three guys who descended out of the woods sat down around the table, completely oblivious or ignoring me and Nate. This time Sam took the initiative and gave Emily a break.

"Paul, Seth, Jacob- meet Shyla and Nate. They're visitors." Sam said visitors as a statement, not a question. Like he was informing them in a reassuring way. Looking at the three boys I could see why, they had the same reaction as the three who had just left, angry and confrontational, which slowly changed to baffled and confused. I didn't even bother to look at Nate this time, I knew what expression I'd find on his face. I didn't even bother saying 'hi' this time, I'd probably just get blown off like I did with the last group. I was just turning around to go find dad and Nat, desperate to get away from these angry people, when something -no- someone, caught my eye. I stayed half turned away from the group but I was looking over my shoulder at him. I didn't know which one he was, I wasn't paying attention when Sam was pointing them out, but it seemed like he knew me. Not knew me in the sense that Sam had just said my name, his eyes flickered with confusion at first but then they flashed with recognition.

I stood frozen where I was, nothing telling me to leave but nothing willing me to stay. I felt something pulling, tugging in my mind- ushering me to realize and embrace it but I couldn't put my finger on what. It's like when you're right in the middle of a good joke and you forget the punch line, it's right on the tip of your tongue and you know exactly what it is but you just can't come to terms with it. I was trying desperately to understand what my mind was trying to tell me when he spoke, slowly and deliberately.

"…Hello, my name is Jacob."

And then I almost burst.

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**So guys I finally got it here! Welcome Jacob everybody! I hope you're reading and not skimming because you'll miss out on important details! I'm already working on the next chapter but I won't post it until I get some REVIEWS! Let me know how you're loving it =]**

**Thanks for reading guys. I'm gonna have an opportunity for my viewers to be incorporated into my story, you'll up your chances by reviewing! **

**-Mia**


	3. wounds

**Helloo readers =] the last thing I posted was a preview of this chapter but from Jacobs POV. This chapter is going to start out from his and switch over to Shy's. I know you're probably wondering about the boys being able to speak telepathically when they're not in their wolf form but just keep reading to find out how!**

**Read and Review please!**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: **_I can't believe how much of a success my Twilight Saga has become!_

**Stephenie Meyer: **Um, Bobia-

**Me: **And even turned into movies! My parents are so proud-

**Stephenie Meyer: **BOBIA!

**Me: **WHAT? Can't a woman brag in peace?

**Stephenie Meyer: **I made the Twilight Saga Bobia, not you.

**Me:** …really?

**Stephenie Meyer: **Yes.

**Me: …**darn.

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Chapter 3- Invisible wounds

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious"

-Albert Einstein

**Jacob's P.O.V.**

It's in my blood, I know, but being a protector isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

The long hours, the constant worry and need to be alert- it gets tiresome. But nothing, nothing at all, could make me regret it. The ability to protect the ones I love, to be someone's last hope- it's all the fuel I need to keep going. These are the types of thoughts that get me through 10 hour patrols. Luckily for me, there's a bonfire tonight so our shifts are in hour intervals; I don't think I could stand to listen to Seth's pointless ramble or Paul's hostile remarks for more than an hour tonight anyway. It's not like I've never patrolled with them before, today was just different- I've been feeling off all day. There seemed to be an imbalance in the pack, everyone was a little out of it today.

It's almost time for our shift to be up, time to circle the perimeter one last time and then head back to the beach. _"Round it up Seth, Paul. Time's about up.". _That's another plus of phasing, our telepathic powers make communication between us so much easier. I don't wait for a response from either one of them, but continue to circle the perimeter; I know they've heard me. Finishing up, I phase back and put my clothes on while waiting for Seth and Paul in the woods near the clearing so we can all walk back together. No need to tell them, they'll know when they feel my absence in the net.

"_Jake, you done yet?" _I hear Seth's nonchalant voice in my head. _"Yeah Seth, Now hurry up. I've already put my clo-" _Holy-f*cking-sh*t. I look down at myself, examining my clothes and making sure I'm not imagining it. I have my clothes on, which means I'm not in wolf form, and if I'm not in wolf form then I shouldn't hear their voices in my head. Too confused and startled to use my telepathic skills again, I don't project any thoughts. Maybe I just imagined that.

"JAKE! What the hell-" I jerk, then freeze. Hearing Paul's voice almost sent me over, but luckily this time I heard it with my ears and not with my mind. I turned around to face Paul and Seth who were both staring at me cautiously.

"Jake what's up? We've been calling your name for, like, ever." Seth says with one eyebrow raised. I didn't know what to say, how do I tell them I'm losing my mind? I choose to ignore what just happened and turn around to walk towards the beach, leaving them to trail behind. I hear them talking, barely just making out the words 'Jake' and 'crazy'. Doing what I do best (ignoring them), I sit down on the bench as the other guys get up to take their shift. I was transfixed in organizing my thoughts, trying to gage my insanity, only to be broken out of it by Sam's authoritative voice.

"Paul, Seth, Jacob- meet Shyla and Nate. They're visitors." I looked up and something snapped. Not the kind of snap that makes me tremble and transform, the kind of snap where your mind parts down the middle and a whole flood of new thoughts and knowledge come forth. In this case thoughts, knowledge and voices.

Well, at least I know I'm not going crazy. As soon as I looked at _him _I realized that nothing, was ever going to be the same again. At first glance my mind cleared, so clear it hurt. Like the first breath of cold air after being in your warm house, clarity pierced my brain. Then, like a tidal wave it all came crashing down, not at _all_ like the gradual entrance of voices when I phased for the first time. _He_ came in, breaking down my walls with an axe, closing any space that was left between our minds. At first it was just _him_, swirling around my brain and then slowly but surely I felt the rest of the pack. Seth and Paul first, then the guys who were on patrol and last of all Sam. From _his _mind I felt his confusion, awe, distain, and intrigue. The rest of the guys were mixed will all of _his_ same feelings, all except me. The first to recover from this was Sam, who immediately took initiative to control the situation.

"_Nate?" _Just hearing Sam say his name through our telepathic network made me tremble. There was no coherent response from Nate but from the look on his face when Sam sad his name through the link, it was unmistakably evident. Nate was in _our_ link, in _our_ minds, in _our_ pack.

_"How? It just doesn't make sense." _Staring into the flickering flames of the bonfire, I run it through my head over and over again._ "How could it reach from so far away? How could it have happened before he even got here?_" I growl inwardly, so only the pack could hear, but it's directed at Sam._" I want answers- no- I need answers, we all do. Now." _Everyone else said nothing, but I could feel what they were thinking- we all didn't know what to make of it. Even him, I can even feel _him_. It's just wrong and it doesn't make sense. "_He shouldn't even be here, he doesn't _deserve _to be here, he's not one of us!"_ I spat this last part at them through our telepathic link. I hear some begin to speak up but I tune them out, too angry to listen to them ramble on. If Sam wasn't going to start explaining soon then I definitely wasn't going to be listening, especially if _he_ could be listening-

"_And he will be listening-_" Sam's voice broke through my barrier_."-from now on. I'll explain later, after the bonfire._" I growl for real this time, not too loud but, a low rumble has started in my chest and is slowly spreading throughout, rippling along the length of my body.

"_Keep your cool Jacob, she doesn't know." _I looked up at the 'she' that Sam was referring too. Standing next to _him _was a girl, probably his sister; they didn't look exactly alike but there was definitely a resemblance. _He_ shifted his weight next to her, automatically diverting my attention back to him. I gave him a once over, taking in his confrontational stance: arms at his sides with all of his weight on his back leg, ready to spring at a moments notice.

"_Jacob." _Sam's tone was demanding, mentally warning me to relax and let it go. Naturally I ignored him and threw up a mental wall in response, but obeying alpha's orders- I remained controlled. This is _my_ pack, _our_ pack. And _he_ is _not_ one of us and never will be. I caught _his_ eye intentionally, emitting as much hatred as I could through a moment's glance before something else caught my attention. Suddenly, I had the familiar feeling of cool sand brushing my ankles. I looked down to see a swirl of sand spiraling unnaturally up my foot and around my ankle like a mini tornado. It was so calming, so relaxing- like nothing I'd ever felt before. The sensation caused by the sand coursed up my leg, and spread throughout my body leaving me with a feeling of tranquility. I wasn't angry anymore, I wasn't irritated or confused and I wasn't shaking. Movement in the corner of my eye caused me to look up- the girl was leaving. As she turned to leave the sand dropped from my foot like falling ashes and the feeling dissipated as soon as it came, leaving my whole body feeling empty.

Then she looked at me, and I at her. And it was then that I knew her. I don't know her name, or how old she is. I can't tell you her favorite color or her greatest fear or her biggest dreams. I can't tell you where she came from or where she's going, but I can tell you one thing- there's things in life you can live without. But this, _this_ is something I will never be able survive in the absence of. _She_ is someone who I can never, and will never be apart from and just the thought of it elates me- the thought of our shared forever. Staring into her eyes, I find the portal to _my _soul and this is how I know that we are one, and destined to be that way. Our souls are halves to a whole, torn apart at the beginning of time only to be found again, _bonded. _The feeling the sand brought returns to me, and with all I can muster I speak.

"…Hello, my name is Jacob." It seemed like it was only me and her on the beach, in the entire _world. _Everything was quiet to my ears, waiting for her response, to hear her voice. And then as quickly as this revelation of new feelings came to my mind, it all left. I remembered, but it was guarded. Like when you know the general concept of something but just can't form it to words, and it was frustrating.

Although I wasn't in anticipation of her response anymore, I still got one. It wasn't from her and it wasn't even verbal. Something pierced into my mind like hot coals on raw skin and then _he _entered my mind, poisoning it with his foreign voice.

"_You. Are. DEAD." _And then he sprang.

"_Nate, NO! WAIT, DON-" _Sam's telepathic attempts to stop Nate were pointless. As Nate pounced, he flung his arm out spinning his sister around and knocking her to the ground, landing on her knees with her back to us. Leaping, Nate landed on top of me knocking me to the ground. We tussled and rolled around on the ground, Nate trying to rip out my throat and me trying to get us into the woods before one of us phased in front of all of these people. We were both trembling all over but my ripples were controlled, whereas Nate's were sporadic and inconsistent. By the way he trembled, I could tell that he's never changed before, never phased. Right when his trembles were getting worse, spreading throughout his entire body from his head through his toes, we were being torn apart by multiple hands. Although we were apart, neither of us stopped trembling.

"_Jac- Jacob stop it now! You're going to do something you-" _Sam spoke into my mind as I bucked against the hands that were restraining me, trying with all of my might to get free_. _All of the animosity I had towards him was fueling my fight, my need to tare him apart.

Apparently Nate felt the same about me. Shaking violently, he was about to phase. I had a moment of clarity as my eyes were pulled towards where the girl had fallen onto the floor. She was still half sitting-half kneeling there, facing away from us with her head towards the ground. I didn't know if she was hurt, or scared, or ashamed but I did know one thing, I couldn't let Nate phase out in the open and risk her seeing him.

"_Get him OUT of here! Take Nate into the woods, now! That's an ORDER!" _Listening to Sam's command, and with all the might I had left in me not to phase right there and pummel Nate into the ground, I took one last glance at the girl on the floor, turned, and sprinted towards the woods knowing Nate would follow suit.

* * *

**Shy's P.O.V.**

"…_Hello, my name is Jacob."_

_And then I almost burst. _

I don't think I've ever been so surprised in my life. Nate, my little brother, has turned into someone I don't know. I can't even recognize him anymore, I don't know what to make of him. Well, he's just a big, a big- BULLY! First the fight with Stevicky and now a perfectly good stranger, it seems he's just looking for trouble.

Nate and the guy who I'd been transfixed with were in the middle of a stare-down. I've never seen so much malice and hatred between two individuals, but that does not excuse what happened next. Nate started shaking, trembling all over his body, like each individual muscle was having a spasm. He closed his eyes as a ripple coursed through his shoulders and neck and when he opened them, his next action was so smooth and swift it was almost like an instinct. He pounced, and the next thing I knew I was on the ground, facing the opposite direction.

Why Nate? Why are you doing this? Turning into this monster of a person? I couldn't bring myself to move, to face this person who called himself my brother. I was frozen, too ashamed to turn around and get up, too scared to see what was going on. Although I wasn't looking, I most certainly could still hear them. They were fighting, I could feel the ground moving beneath their bodies. I could feel the air shifting, moving around their rippling, thrashing forms. I don't know how I could feel each gust of air as they panted for breath or each specific air current made by their movements, but I could. I was too distraught to entertain any ideas about why I had these heightened senses. I focused on trying to make myself as invisible as possible to escape any embarrassment caused from this.

I stayed there, palms on the ground, till I felt the movement stop. There were thudding footsteps, a pair of them, and then there was silence. I turned my head to the side daring to face who stood around me only to find Emily kneeling next to me, hand on my back.

"Shyla, are you alright? Are you hurt?" I looked up into Emily's face only to see concern, no mockery or anger.

"Ye-Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I guess I lost my footing." Regardless of whether Nate is in the wrong, I won't shame him in front of people. Any ill feelings I have towards him will be known only by him, no need for badmouthing. Straightening my back, I start to stand up, and with Emily's assistance I take a seat on the bench. I look up for the first time to face accusing stares, only to find Seth staring intently at me. Everyone else around him was busy minding their own business, as if the fight didn't even phase them. Emily gave him a nod and he stood up from his crouching position in front of me and took off into the woods.

"Where is he going?" I asked. Why would Emily send him into the woods? And where the hell is Nate?

"Oh, Shyla! Why there you are, we've been looking all over for you and Nate." I jumped, startled, at the sound of Nat's voice. "Why- Where is Nate?"

"Bathroom." me and Emily said simultaneously, exchanging curious glances at each other afterwards in response to our similar thinking patterns. Giving a nervous laugh I add, "He went to the bathroom, he'll be right back." making sure not to have any eye contact as I said it. Dad was busy eating a hot dog to notice or even care what was going on around him. I was just thankful that they hadn't seen Nate's episode, we'd never hear the end of how we 'embarrassed Nat during a business opportunity' blah, blah. There was an awkward silence before Emily turned to Nat and said,

"So, I heard you're an anthropologist, you know we have some wise women…" I couldn't thank Emily enough for diverting Nat's attention. While Nat babbled on about something Emily glanced over at me and gave me a reassuring smile, which I returned before mulling over to my dad who was staring off into the horizon. I stood next to him for a few minutes, just enjoying the breeze as it played with my hair. That's the one thing I liked about dad, we didn't always need to talk to understand each other. Sometimes we could just sit, doing absolutely nothing- like right now. I know that he's missing mom, thinking about the times they shared, he doesn't have to say things like this to me. A few more minutes went by and I turned around to see Emily still talking to Nat, and Nate and Sam descending from the woods.

When they got to where Nat and Emily were standing I could see them making small talk before Nate began to walk over to where I was standing sheepishly, head down. I walked to meet him half way, making sure we were out of earshot from dad. I was silent for a few seconds and just when I looked up to chastise him, the look on his face silenced me. I've never seen someone so distraught, and confused in the entirety of my life. I did have one question for him though.

"Where are your clothes Nate?" I looked at his outfit; instead of the green shirt he was wearing earlier, he sported a blue one and instead of his brown khaki shorts, he was wearing black basketball ones. I raised and eyebrow at him quizzically awaiting an answer. Not making eye contact with me, he responded.

"They, uh, got messed up during the, well, you know. We were kind of in the dirt and stuff." Shaking my head, I could think of nothing to say. I had a million questions but I didn't necessarily know if I wanted the answers to them, it was all too much for one night. We stood like that for a while, quiet, until I spoke up.

"I hope you apologized." I could tell by the silence that followed that he hadn't. "You've made a fool of yourself and disrespected perfectly good people. You are going to apologize." And with that, I was done with that subject.

"I did already, alright? Anything else?" Nate basically spat at me. Speechless and hurt to my core, I just looked at him. He was staring out into the water, just like my father was about twenty feet in front of him. What's wrong with the men in my family? I pivot and walk towards Nat and Emily, but instead of stopping when I got to them I kept walking. My heart hurt, bad. I felt like someone just told me dog's never existed, lost and deceived. The way Nate spoke to me, as if I was just some common person, humiliated me. I continued to walk towards the edge of the clearing, looking for the path that we walked down to get here.

As a tear rolled down my cheek I sped up my pace, refusing to be seen in this state. I heard a deep voice calling my name coming from behind me, but I paid no mind. My tears blurred my vision as I searched for the path, but luckily I found it. As I scrambled up the hill, the calling of my name got more frequent and a little louder with every shout. Wiping furiously at my eyes, I turn right to enter the parking lot where the car was parked but instead of feeling pavement beneath my feet, I felt more dirt and sand. Opening my eyes, I realized that I wasn't in the parking lot, I had turned too soon.

I started to take steps backward as I surveyed where I was, looking for any clues as to how to get out or where I had came from. Trees were all around, looming over me with long, thick branches that caste shadows and blocked out the moonlight. Another step back and my foot caught a branch, causing me to loose my footing and fall backwards. Before I made contact with the ground, someone was grabbing my arm quite forcefully, yanking me upright until my feet supported my body. I turned around to see Nate staring at me with a scowl on his face, but the concern in his eyes was inevitable. Behind Nate was Sam, running his fingers through his hair and across is face, looking as stressed as ever. I was just about to snarl something nasty to the both of them until something moved behind Sam. About 50 feet back I could see bushes moving and branches snapping. Hearing the snapping twigs, Sam and Nate instinctively turned there heads in its directions. Before I could make out what it was, it was gone.

"Get her out of here." Sam said to Nate, but did not turn away from the direction the noise had came. Nate went to take my arm and lead me out of the woods but when I jerked back, he resorted to picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder as he bounded out of the woods. I saw Sam's retreating back, he was running as fast as ever, and in a second he disappeared into the night.

"Put me down you big moron, I have functioning legs." Without protest Nate lowered me to the ground, barely slowing down his speed and without letting go of my arm.

"What the hell was that all about? Is this some type of sick local game? Wrestle-in-the-woods-at-night? Real cool." I said as I hit Nate's chest with the back of my hand and strode quickly, covering the last few feet until the parking lot. Nate didn't respond, just walked and got into the car with an already waiting Nat and dad.

As I lay down in the motel room, the events of the night consume my thoughts. I've come to the conclusion that all of this is absolutely ridiculous- none of it makes sense. Nate hates local guys, local guys hate Nate. Nate fights with local guy, ends up in different clothes. Other local guy and Nate follow me into the woods, Nate listens to local guys order without question. None of it was adding up, there was no rhyme or reason. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed to go use the bathroom and a burning sensation took over my chest. It wasn't inside, like heartburn, but a burning of my skin, as if I had gotten a scrape or something. Maybe in all of the confusion in the woods I had accidentally scraped myself on a branch? It hurt to the touch, like a bruise.

I went to the bathroom to inspect it more thoroughly and almost didn't believe my eyes. 3 long, jagged marks stretched from underneath my right collar bone to the top of my breast. They were dark bruises, and hurt when I prodded them to see if they were real. What the? I don't remember hitting any branches hard enough to leave these deep, dark bruises. They definitely couldn't have been from the bonfire because dad or Nat would have noticed them and said something, I was wearing a v-neck shirt. I haven't slept since I've been back in the room, I was too wired up from the nights happenings, so I would've noticed if I'd banged into something. But even if, what could've made these marks? They looked like, well, like -an image of Emily's face crossed my mind- they looked like the marks Emily had on her face. Completely confused and bewildered, I retreated back to the bed, noticing that the pain became more and more intense as I heard howling coming from far away in the distance.

* * *

**Jacob's P.O.V.**

"Shut up"

"He got you good man." Paul was always ready to rile someone up.

"I said shut _up_." I didn't want to hear it. The only reason _he_, I still couldn't bring myself to say his name, had gotten the upper hand was because I let him. It was his first time phasing and he obviously didn't know what he was doing, just lashing out in any which direction. So mostly, I just dodged his blows and pounces, not trying to inflict anything injury to him. Sam's internal voice commanded us to stop fighting, but _he_ was already in mid-air, swiping at me. His paw slashed across my chest, leaving scratches underneath my right collar bone. They were already healing, but I have to admit it did hurt. After that blow, Sam got in between us in wolf form and commanded us to phase back and get dressed. For me that was no problem, I could just go back to my house. But for this chump, well someone was going to have to lend him clothes and I damn sure wasn't going to so, naturally, Sam offered too.

Before anyone could say anything else to me, I had already left to my house. I still don't know what's going on, Sam has yet to explain anything and honestly, I think he's just as clueless as the rest of us. I mean, in none of the legends did it say the wolves phased before they were even in the presence of vampires, before they were even in touch with their pack. Wait, was _he_ even part of our pack? Of course he was, he was in our link. Speaking of which, the fact that we spoke through our links in human form is still an unsolved mystery. I couldn't feel the link now, but we had undeniably been connected earlier. Ever since we were introduced to him and his sister-

His sister. How could I have forgotten, is she even alright? I never even went back to check on my imprint- wait, was she my imprint? I mean, I definitely felt it hands down earlier but now I'm not so sure. Aren't you supposed to be absolutely sure from that moment on? Everyone else's imprints consumed their thoughts, I could by sharing minds with them in wolf form- they were completely and irrevocably in love. I didn't feel everything overwhelming when I thought about her now, just a faint cloudiness, like the feeling you get when you don't quite understand something. When you're missing a piece of the puzzle, you're trying to bring it to your attention but it's just under the surface.

Laying on my bed, I push the thoughts of her to the back of my mind, they only leave me confused. As I'm about to drift off too sleep, I hear howling. Great. Can't they give me a break? Getting up, I pull on some shorts and trot out the door and into the woods.

* * *

**Shy's P.O.V. **

I managed to fall asleep for I don't know how long. It couldn't have been too long though, because when I opened by eyes it was still dark out. I was awakened by howling which persisted for a few minutes, then abruptly stopped, as if it had found whatever it was looking for.

"Nate, do you hear that-" I stopped mid sentence as I rolled over only to find Nate's bed empty. I immediately sprang up, wincing as the right side of my chest throbbed against my sudden movement, and looked around for Nate. The bathroom light was off and the door open, he wasn't in there or any other part of the room. I reached down to grab my phone and dial dad or Nat when I noticed that, where there had been two room keys on the night table, there was only one. Where on earth did he go?

Pulling some pants on and slipping into a sweater, I headed out the door. Standing in front of the motel room door, I contemplated where to start looking and decided to head around back to see if the car was still there or if Nate had taken it. As I rounded the corner, the wind picked up a little blowing my sweater open. I played tug of war with the wind, trying to keep my sweater closed, but gave up once I realized the cold gusts of wind were actually soothing my bruised chest. As I got the back of the building, I heard voices; low, deep clipped voices, speaking about something obviously secret. So, naturally I listened.

"I don't understand what's going on-" That was Nate's voice, angry and confused, but unmistakably Nate.

"-and I don't like it." My heart sped up as I heard his voice. It was the same voice from the bonfire, the same one who caught my breath earlier, _Jacob_. I leaned back against the wall, bracing myself.

"Hush!" I recognized Sam's authoritative voice also. "We're not alone." I had a split second to decide my next move. I could either show myself, or attempt to run and probably only make it about 10 yards and possibly get tackled in the process…

I chose to show myself. Slowly peeling myself from the wall, I rounded the corner and sauntered into the direction of the voices, refusing to look up or meet anyone's eyes. I stopped walking when Nate spoke up.

"Shy! What are you doing out here? It's late. Go back inside." He looked..ashamed, like he had been caught stealing from the cookie jar and was trying to divert my attention. I looked from Nate to Sam "I-" as I looked at _his _face, at Jacob's- I froze. He took a step towards me, then another, and another, not stopping until he was arms distance away. The entire time, he stared at my chest.

"Where..where did you get that? When did that happened?" My hand automatically flew up onto my chest, causing pain and making me wince. Why is he so broken up about my bruises? I searched for my voice and answered the best I knew how. "I don't know, I was in the motel room laying down and it just, appeared."

His hand reached out as if to touch but at the last second, he dropped his arm to his side. "Jacob, didn't Na-didn't you have a scratch like that earlier tod- before?" Sam asked, all three guys' gazes were now fixated on my chest. I looked over at Nate and the pain was evident in his eyes, he looked worn down, like a lifetime's worth of guilt and pain had just caught up on him.

"No- how could- I mean- do you think-?" Nate was rambling, his questions fragmented and his thoughts broken up.

"Shy, I want you to come with me, with us. I don't know for sure, but I think I can help you figure out where those bruises came from." Same spoke to me softly, while putting a reassuring on Jacob who's expression shared the same pain and guilt as Nate's. I looked to Nate, for reassurance, to see if he trusted them. With a Nod Nate let me know that it was okay, and that we would be going with them.

"Does it hurt?" Jacob asked me in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Yea-yeah, it does." When I answered, Jake flinched as if he'd been hit. He turned around to look at Sam who gave him a sympathetic look, then turned and began to walk in the direction of the woods.

"I'll ride with you two, show you how to get there." Sam followed Nate over to the car and opened the passenger side door for me as Nate got into the drivers side. I turned to see where Jacob was but he was nowhere in sight. "Where did Jacob go?" I asked Sam who was situated in the backseat. "He needed to get something." Was the only response I got.

"You can turn the seat warmer on." Nate said to me and before I could even move, he was already pushing several buttons and turning knobs to heat up my seat. Now he's attending to me as if I'm a baby? I don't get it. The rest of the ride was silent except when Sam needed to direct Nate on how to get wherever it was that we were going.

* * *

**Soooo guys, I know everything confusing but it'll all clear up soon! That's crazy right, Shy and Jacob both got hurt in the same spot, but Shy has no idea how she got hers, hmmm. You'll just have to read and find out. But, because I am lovely, here is a tiny tiny snippet preview for the next chapter. **

**'Sam's P.O.V. **

_Looking at Jake, I new exactly how he felt. I still, to this day, cannot forgive what happened that day with Emily. I'd cross any mountain or river, travel to any planet and back, to do it all over. As beautiful as she is, she still shouldn't have to wear the marks of my mistakes on her face, a constant reminder to her, me, and everyone of the failure that I had been at protecting her. Who knew I'd have to protect her from myself? At least Shy's wounds are bruises that will heal. Hopefully Nadie, one of the wise women, will have some answers as to why Jake's wounds have shown up on Shy's body as well.'_

**enjoyy! review pleaseee!**_  
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	4. feather

**Hey guys, I know its been a little while since my last update but I've been super busy! Here's a little update for you, its more of a filler because I really wanted to update for you guys! Chapter five will be up soon, I promise. **

**Review please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything twilight related( characters, aspects of plot) only my original creation!**

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* * *

**Chapter 4 - Marble feather

_"Pain of mind is worse than pain of body"_

_-Latin Proverb_

**Sam's P.O.V. **

Looking at Jake, I knew exactly how he felt. I still, to this day, cannot forgive what happened that day with Emily. I'd cross any mountain or river, travel to any planet and back, to do it all over. As beautiful as she is, she still shouldn't have to wear the marks of my mistakes on her face; a constant reminder to her, me, and everyone of the failure that I had been at protecting her. Who knew I'd have to protect her from myself? At least Shy's wounds are bruises that will heal. Hopefully Nadie, one of the wise women, will have some answers as to why Jake's wounds have shown up on Shy's body as well.

**Shy's P.O.V.**

Sitting on the small, floral printed ottoman, I waited with Nate and Sam for Nadie to come out of the back room she had retreated into just moments before. Nate was sitting on the matching floral print couch just a few feet to my right while Sam stood, leaning against the door frame. I glanced at Sam quizzically, impatiently waiting for answers to the long stream of questions whirring around my mind. Where was Jacob? Why were Nate, Sam and Jacob outside in the middle of the night? Why did Jacob look so taken aback by my bruises? Why does Sam think he knows where the bruises came from? Where was Jacob?..I think I already asked that question. Sam and Nate aren't offering any answers to me and suspense was driving me crazy.

I was just about to open my mouth and demand answers when Nadie finally walked through the door that connected the living room to the dining room. She stopped a few feet in front of me, taking the time to give me a once over and staring an extra second at the markings on my chest, then walked over to the wooden rocking chair by where Sam was standing and sat down.

"The wood's good for my back. My old bones are getting stiff, they're in need of some good support. Doesn't do much for my tush thou." Nadie said as she winked in my direction and wiggled her butt a little emphasizing the hardness of the seat of the chair. Sam cracked a smile, but me and Nate were too tense to be humored by the old woman.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude and rush but, uh, I _really _would like some answers." When I said this Nadie's eyebrows shot up in the air.

"Oh, would you now?" She asked with mock seriousness. Easing into a smile, she stood from her chair and walked over to the bookshelf, taking a trinket off of a shelf and placing it in my hand. I waited until she returned to her seat to peak down at what had been handed to me. It was a beautiful carving of a feather, about the length of my pinky finger and the width of a quarter. Carved out of some type of stone, it was light grey and particularly heavy for its small size. I stared at it's marvelous simplistic beauty, moving it around in my hand and allowing the smooth surface to sooth my skin.

"Marble," She said, "Not what you expected huh?" This was true. I was expecting something, well, less meaningless. I looked up at her expectantly, waiting for some sort of explanation only to find her looking at me the same way. She's expecting some type of reaction out of me, so careful not to say something offensive, I state the obvious.

"It's heavy." I said, glancing down at it again before looking up at her. She smirked ever so slightly to my surprise. As she began to speak, I focused my eyes on the marbled feather, too nervous to look anywhere else.

"It's not the time to delve into the entire Quileute history, but I do have one story I'd like to share" She smiled as she said the next, part. "my _Onatah_." I smiled politely back, not wanting to interrupt her, but making sure I mental noted to ask her about the meaning of that word after she was done.

"A long, long time ago dear; before even your grand parents, grand parents were alive, there lived a woman named Maka. It's said that when she was born, the torrential rain that had been falling from the skies stopped- right there, in the middle of a thunder storm the clouds cleared and the sun broke out into the day again. And so she was named Maka, meaning 'earth'. She was thought to have a uniquely strong connection to the earth, even as an infant, and people flocked to her side, wanting to witness such a miracle. Her father was the chief of the tribe and as his daughter she gained the trust of the people and were able to influence them. Through her childhood she did simple things; she would make water fill a dry, empty stream. She would bring life back to crops that had fallen weak. She would cool the overheated grounds as the tribe walked on long, hot summer days. She was a hero to the tribe and they loved her. No one doubted her powers, her connection to the earth."

Nadie paused a moment, a solemn look taking over her face. When she resumed the story, I edged up on my seat, eager to hear more.

"When she was 17, sweet Maka's life took an unexpected turn. She fell …in love." Nadie offered a weak smile, glanced at Sam, then resumed the story. "There was a war between her tribe and one of it's neighbors. Maka's love was the best warrior and led all of the battles. When they returned from this particular battle, the chief ordered Maka's love to relinquish his place as a warrior in the tribe."

"Her dad was looking out for her, he didn't want he to lose her love to the war." I said matter-of-factly. That's such a sweet thing for a father to do, to care so much about his daughter's heart. Nadie shook her head in disagreement.

"The chief was not concerned about the state of his daughter's heart, but that of her body. You see, while her love was away at war," Nadie hesitated before finishing. "Maka started to develop…bruises. On her body." Nadie paused as my heart skipped a beat. Too scared to ask questions, I knew the answer to the mystery of my bruises was coming so I waited patiently for Nadie to finish.

"You see, her love had went to war many times before. Other tribes constantly instigated trouble with their tribe and in their defense they would battle. This particular battle though was not out of defense. The fight was not to defend their people, it was out of vengeance. Their pride pushed them into the fight and as a result, Maka paid the price." Confused, I stared at Nadie. It didn't make sense. Sensing the confusion in my eyes, Nadie tried to Clarify.

"Maka was never harmed by the war because the wars were justified by the need for safety, they were only fought in order to protect their people. The one battle that Maka suffered from was one that did not need to happen, the fight was purely out of stupidity and wounded prides. The imp-bond that Maka and her love shared served as a sort of…checks and balances. As head of the warriors, her love needed to make sure his decisions were in favor of the whole tribe. To keep any rash decisions from being made there was a consequence, one that would cut him deeper than if it had been on his physical body. If her love was to take part in an unnecessary fight, Maka would also bear the bruises her love got during the battle."

We all sat there in silence for a minute, taking it all in.

"That feather that you hold is symbolic of her love's relinquish of his warrior status. Her father, too afraid that her love could not control himself, insisted that he would fight in no more battles. That feather there is a replica of her love's battle feather that was givien to him during his initiation ceremony. It's made of marble on purpose. The marble is heavy, representing the heavy heart her love carried around knowing the pain he had caused his love, Maka."

Thinking the story over and over, I tried to piece together the answer to my question.

"So you're saying that..that I have the same…situation as Maka? I get wounded if my love acts rashly in battle?" Wait, my love? I don't have a love. Nadie smiled at this.

"What I'm saying, my Onatah, is that I strongly believe that you are in Maka's shoes. That you are the Onatah, the _daughter of the earth_." I looked at Nadie, this old woman, like she had three heads. What, did she forget to take her medicine this morning? The daughter of the friggen earth? This lady is a wack job. I snorted a laugh before turning to Nate to roll my eyes sarcastically just to find him staring out the window. I looked over at Sam to find him, eyebrows knitted together, thinking extremely hard.

"Okay, let's say I play into your momentary loss of insanity for a little while. There's a few loopholes in your connection here. One, if Maka was the 'daughter of the earth' how could I be? Two, I don't have a love to have been injured in battle and three, I don't command any of the earth's elements at my will." I said matter-of-factly. Nadie looked behind me and made a gesture as if she was letting someone know it was their time to speak. Swiveling around on the ottoman, I almost rocked backwards as I met the penetrating gaze of Jacob.

"Oh my! You scared the bajeezus out of me. When did you get here." Instead of answering my question he just looked me over, his jaw flexing as his eyes passed my wounded chest. He looked to Nadie, then ran a hand down over his face then back up through his hair and stalked over to the couch before plopping down next to Nate.

"Jacob," Nadie said. "I think you might be able to persuade Shy a little more on our…theory." Giving him a reassuring nod, Nadie fixed her gaze on me. I half turned to Jacob, too scared to meet his eyes, so instead I focused my attention on rubbing small circles into the marbled feather resting in my palm.

"To-today when me and Nate, uh, fought at the beach…you remember. We went into the woods and before they could stop him" Jacob cast a sideways look at Nate, still feeling some animosity about the fight. "Nate got a good swipe at me. He scratched me. On my chest." My eyes snapped up to his face as he said this last part. Jacob looked pained in the face as he said. "Exactly where your bruises are." I stared at Jacob for a second, not believing what I was hearing. He was actually playing into this bologna? I don't know where these bruises came from but I do know one thing for sure; these people are _nuts_.

Standing up, I turned to Nate. "We should get going Nate, it's late." Giving him a lets-get-the-hell-outta-here-look, I motioned towards the door. Turning back to Nadie I said "Thank you for your time Nadie, sorry to have woken-" before I could finish, Nate interrupted me.

"Sit down Shy." I turned to him quickly, ready to give him another look, but his facial expression stopped me. He looked lost and confused and determined. Nate didn't plan on going anywhere.

"Nate, don't tell me you're feeding into this, that you're actually _believing_ them." Looking back to me, Nate spoke exactly what was on his heart.

"I don't know what to believe anymore." I have never seen Nate so distraught as in the last few hours. Something was going on, going wrong. Something _big_. "Alright," I said sitting back down. "What in the _hell_ is going on?"

* * *

**So I know this update was uber short but I promise I'll be posting chapter 5 shortly! Pleasee review! It helps, really!**

**3 Mia**


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